Aside from the assessment of already restored sites that forms the main focus of this research unit, subproject 7 will be focussing on live restoration in co-creation with local stakeholders. From 2024 through 2027, a Living Lab will be implemented in Northwestern Rwanda within the four nW districts,(Rutsiro, Nyabihu, Ngororero and Rubavu, a region known as a high risk soil erosion zone with Ngororero being at the top and Rubavu at the third position after Muhanga District). Here we are developing round tables of restoration practitioners to build up a network of key actors and exchange experiences. WhatsApp groups are being used as a starting point for this. The living lab will probably be set up across two to three different cells and villages where one village involves more traditional restoration activities (typically performed by ARCOS), another village involves typical ARCOS activities as well as our own additional actions, and a third village carries out restoration by a bottom-up community approach within a village.
Following the workshop and conference in Kigali from February 19 to 21, 2025, Dr. Dula Wakassa Duguma and Susanne Vögele visited three pre-selected living lab sites in one of the two designated cells in Rutsiro district. These sites were presented on February 24 by SP7 team member Dr. Apollinaire William, who leads the planning and implementation of the Living Lab sub-project. The visit aimed to deepen the research unit’s understanding of the intervention sites for the co-created Living Labs, which are set to be launched in the coming months in Rutsiro District.
During the visit, the research team hiked through the hilly landscape to observe various land uses and assess the potential for restoration interventions. They were accompanied and guided by local field assistants and farmer group members, who provided valuable insights (see photo reference).
Dula Wakassa Duguma, Esperance Yamfashije (field assistant), William Apollinaire, Jean Baptiste Tegamaso (head of farmers’ group) and Susanne Vögele in Teba cell, Rutsiro district.
The visited sites are approximately a one-and-a-half-hour walk from the starting point, which is located near the main road. These sites are surrounded by various restoration activities, as well as cropland and pastureland, emphasizing the potential for integrating restoration efforts into agricultural landscapes. The area explored in the Teba cell includes three distinct sites, beginning with a restored reference site by the Albertine Rift Conservation Society (ARCOS), which features radical terracing, agroforestry efforts, and woodlot patches (see picture below).
ARCOS reference restoration site (left picture) and newly established tree nursery (right picture ) in Tuba cell, Rutsiro district.
At the hilltop of the adjoining reference site, there is another location designated for modification and improvement of restoration activities. A third site is situated on the opposite hillside, where restoration efforts will begin from scratch. These three sites represent different stages of restoration, providing a solid foundation for comparison and analysis of their outcomes in the coming years.
In the neighboring Shyembe cell, two additional sites have been identified—one for modification and another for restoration from the ground up.
The Living Lab concept and implementation plan were presented during stakeholder workshops and conferences. The latest workshop, conducted by William Apollinaire on February 25 and 26, brought together stakeholders from government institutions, NGOs, research and educational organizations, and local farmer communities. The goal was to foster transdisciplinary collaboration from the outset, ensuring that all parties were involved in identifying the socioeconomic and ecological preferences and expectations surrounding restoration in a collective roundtable format.
During this roundtable, two groups were formed, each representing a different governance model. These groups consist of community members (mostly farmers) and representatives from government and other institutions and organizations.
In the coming months and years, regular visits by stakeholders and the research unit will be conducted to monitor progress around the Living Labs and to study the effectiveness of integrating science and practice in an experimental, real-world setting.
Header Picture : Dula Wakassa Duguma, Susanne Vögele and William Apollinaire.
